Predictions by the Mayan calendar, on which the media was so fixated it would not stop reporting on the world’s supposed end even to go to the bathroom, came and went with nary an apocalyptic peep. Nope, we are still here, and besides a few “World Not Over” headlines, little of that fear mongering remains.
Predictions by the Mayan calendar, on which the media was so fixated it would not stop reporting on the world’s supposed end even to go to the bathroom, came and went with nary an apocalyptic peep. Nope, we are still here, and besides a few “World Not Over” headlines, little of that fear mongering remains.
During this manufactured crisis, cooler heads noted the Mayan ancient calendar’s cyclical perspective on time. Like many pre-historical civilizations, the Mayan story of existence included these instructions: once you get to the end, go back to the beginning.
Thus for you and I and everyone else, life goes on. There are bills to be paid, trash to be disposed of, clothes to wash, etc. Is there anything new at all?
Well, walking up the front walk and standing outside our door is the New Year. With it comes an unmarked calendar as well as the chance to start fresh. In our culture, this is the “restart” button with which we often attempt to reinvent ourselves, if only in small ways.
Many of us make resolutions to lose weight, exercise more, stop smoking, save money, and a host of other improvement projects. Annually we make self-promises for finding new jobs, initiating new relationships (or make healthier those we have), taking up hobbies, and just generally making better the personal conditions that prevail.
On the other hand, most of us do not remain resolute. Social scientists say barely 46% of those personal pledges for betterment remain in play come June and July. Given the self-reported nature of that statistic, I’d bet the real batting percentage regarding resolutions is even lower.
Research further indicates that marshalling our willpower to move toward one goal depletes our determination to inch toward another. That is, all our efforts to exercise more leave us less able to resist the siren song of a strawberry sundae with sprinkles.
And if that isn’t dispiriting enough, the data also shows the self-help industry’s obsession with motivating self-talk and affirmation is all horse hockey.
But maybe we’re doing our resolutions wrong. Maybe we stand a better chance of making ourselves better not by concentrating on how to perfect our own lives, but on the lives of others. Maybe the passing spark of “being all fired up” for personal change pales in the glow of doing something for someone else.
Promising you’ll get more exercise in 2013? Then look no further than the local homeless shelter, animal shelter, or food bank. Moving boxes of donated food and clothing or donated furniture will give you plenty of upper bodywork. Taking not-yet-adopted doggies for a walk will get your heart pumping. Heck, making a weekly picking-up-trash pass through the park will give you lots of fresh air. You might rationalize skipping a trip to the gym, but helping someone in need can be the strongest motivator ever.
For an improved year, then, set your sights on improving things for someone else. You’re bound to end up with a better, reinvented you, no cataclysm or crisis required.
Pat Grimes, a former South Bay resident, writes from Ypsilanti, Mich. He can be reached at pgwriter@inbox.com.
